Major league baseball team in
Atlanta,
Georgia. Part of the
National League's
Eastern Division. Plays
home games at
Turner Field, formerly known as
Centennial Olympic Stadium before it was converted into a baseball-only
palace of a
stadium.
The franchise originally played in Boston as the Boston Braves. In 1953, declining fan support precipitated a move to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they played in County Stadium until 1965. They then moved to Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and became the A-Braves.
The 1970s' main highlight was simple: the Braves' Hank Aaron became the all-time major league home run leader in 1974. Afterwards, though, the team went into a fairly lengthy slide, winning just one division title until 1991.
The Braves went on a tear starting in 1991. As of the 2001 season, they have now won ten straight full-season division titles, the longest such streak of any North American top-level pro sports franchise. The first three titles came in the NL West, then the remainder in the NL East after 1994's realignment (though they were second in the East behind the Montreal Expos when the 1994 strike halted the season). Unfortunately, postseason play has been their downfall, as the Braves have won five National League Championship Series during that span, but only one World Series, in 1995 against the Cleveland Indians.